


Missed Connections

by Sunbeam21



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:15:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23414410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunbeam21/pseuds/Sunbeam21
Summary: Sometimes people have meet cutes, like in romcoms.But sometimes, they just miss that chance------If Roman had waited to hand in the hoodie, even thirty seconds, he'd have met Virgil. If Virgil had been faster, even by thirty seconds, he'd have met Roman.Virgil would have nervously asked Roman for his hoodie back. Roman would have given it. They'd introduce themselves, Roman would compliment the hoodie making, the art of it. Virgil would blush, try to dodge the compliment, mention that he likes Roman's painted shoes. They'd have exchanged phone numbers, and been dating within weeks.But that didn't happen.  They went their separate ways. And never met.-no happy ending
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	Missed Connections

Virgil was normally careful with his things , double and triple checking he has everything he wants or needs before he goes anywhere, does anything. 

But today he was in a rush. He got a phone call that he was needed back at work urgently, immediately. In his anxious rush he spilled coffee, paid way too much for his bill, and left his hoodie under the table, where he'd put it out of the way in the warm café.  
He made it back to work, and didn't even notice the missing article until a few hours later. He groaned, annoyed with himself, and made a mental note to go back to the café that evening to try to find it. 

The hoodie lay where it was for several hours, unnoticed by staff and customers as the place got quiet after the lunch time rush. It wasn't until Roman Sanders went to put his bag under the table that it was discovered. 

Roman picks up the item, immediately noticing the hand stitched patches and admiring the work. He held the item of clothing in front of him and tried to picture the person who wore it.

"They obviously like dark colours." he thought to himself looking at the purple and black colour scheme. "Probably an emo. Clearly creative judging by the design, and an individual, unafraid to be different to everyone else, and wear something that shows who they are"  
He folded it carefully and places the hoodie on the seat beside him as he drank his hot chocolate

"We'd probably get along"

Roman finished his drink and gathered his things, as well as the hoodie. He went to pay, ensuring he included a generous tip too. 

"Someone left this at the table." he said, pointing towards Table 7 where he'd sat. 

"Oh I'll put it in lost and found" the young woman working there replied, as she took the item from him. "thank you for turning it in"

Roman smiled and turned to leave. As he left, a shorter man with brown hair with purple dyed bangs and black eyeshadow came in. Roman held the door open for him and headed home. As he walked, he tried not to think about how lonely he'd been lately. He'd make some friends soon, he was sure of it. 

"Hi um...hi," Virgil said as he approached the counter. "I don't suppose someone has found a black hoodie with purple patches on it here today by any chance?" he asked nervously

"Yeah actually that man just-" the barista looked around for the man who'd just paid. "Oh he must have left" she shrugged, before picking up the hoodie from the shelf behind the counter. "Is this your item?" She asked Virgil

"Yes! That's it" he grinned, taking it quickly. "Thank you," he said, and dropped a tip into the jar on the counter as thanks before he left. 

As he walked home he noticed thankfully that the hoodie hadn't gotten damaged. No one appreciated how much work went into it but at least none had to be redone. 

If Roman had waited to hand in the hoodie, even thirty seconds, he'd have met Virgil. If Virgil had been faster, even by thirty seconds, he'd have met Roman. 

Virgil would have nervously asked Roman for his hoodie back. Roman would have given it. They'd introduce themselves, Roman would compliment the hoodie making, the art of it. Virgil would blush, try to dodge the compliment, mention that he likes Roman's painted shoes. They'd have exchanged phone numbers, and been dating within weeks.

But that didn't happen. They went their separate ways. And never met.

-

Logan loved routine. It kept him calm, and helped his days remain organised. Each day he leaves the house at 7.30am, and heads to a bakery on the way to work. He orders a coffee and sits for a while with it, before leaving for work. He goes to the same bakery each day, and sits for half an hour, alone, drinking coffee, waking up, and pretending to himself he isn’t as lonely as he is, pretending it's perfectly normal to always be as alone as he is. 

Logan isn’t a great pretender.

A new bakery opens on the way to work and he considers going there. It's pink on the outside, and displays different cupcakes, cookies, and cakes in the window. The door hits a little bell when people open it. Logan knows this because he has heard it many times as he considers going in or not. He stands looking in the window sometimes, thinking what he’d order. It would be easy. Open the door, make the bell ding, order a coffee, and maybe a muffin, and sit there today instead. Maybe come back someday. 

But he doesn't want to change his routine. So Logan heads to the usual bakery and orders his coffee, and sits alone. 

The man working in the bakery considers going outside to water the flowers. But it's due to rain later, and the timer for the scones will ding soon. He decides that he had better stay in the kitchen. 

If Logan had entered the new bakery that day, he would have set off the bell. It would have alerted the man in the kitchen of a customer early in the morning and he would have come out to the front to greet them. He would have happily introduced himself as Patton, and taken Logan’s order. 

He also would have taken Logan's heart, and soon, his phone number.

If Patton had gone out to water the flowers he would have met Logan, and fallen in love with him immediately. He would have been so distracted by the man he would have also fallen over his own feet, causing Logan to help him up and into the bakery, where they would have started talking and getting to know each other. Logan would have suddenly had to rush off to work, with no coffee, but would have returned the next week to see if Patton was okay. And the following weeks just to see Patton. 

Patton and Logan. Logan and Patton. They would have gone together undeniably perfectly, like Watson and Holmes. One would rarely be found without the other. They would have been the definition of love. 

But that didn’t happen. Logan didn’t go to the bakery. And Patton didn’t go to water the flowers. And so they never met. 

-

Patton stared nervously at the signs on the countertop. “I'M A BUSY BEE” one stated, with a cute cartoon of a honey bee and a hive doodled next to it. “I’M LOOKING FOR A FRIEND” another stated with a doodle of two flowers next to it. He considered the one asking for a friend, imagined someone coming to sit with him at the restaurant he was at, but ultimately decided not to take that sign. Instead he grabbed a sign proclaiming him a busy bee, not wanting to be bothered, and spent the meal pretending he was checking his emails, typing drafts of emails he’d never send to imaginary friends asking about their family and friends and how their play opening had gone. 

If Patton had taken the sign looking for a friend, he would have had one in minutes. A young man with brown hair still in a prince costume from rehearsals would have joined him, and they would have immediately clicked. They would have talked for hours, not noticing other patrons coming and going, lost in their conversation. They would have shared parts of their meals, and split a dessert. One would have insisted on paying, but told the other he could buy him a meal back sometime, before winking at him. They would have exchanged phone numbers and headed home happy.

But that didn’t happen, and so Patton stayed sitting alone, and Roman entered the restaurant following his rehearsal, and looked around for any table with someone looking for a table mate. Unfortunately there were none, and all tables were full. Roman left, ignoring the lonely pang he felt, and headed to the pizza place down the road. At least there they knew his usual order. 

-

Virgil read the post again on his phone. The local library was holding an informative talk on astronomy that evening, followed by a stand for attendants to watch the meteor show. He considered going - it would definitely be interesting, and nicer than watching it on the roof of his apartment flat alone. 

But there could be a lot of people there, he reminded himself. Strangers he'd embarrass himself in front of. People who would judge his every move and inaction, his every word and silence. Maybe it would be better to stay home.

And so he did. He looked up the information about meteor showers on his phone, and retweeted a tweet from NASA about what was happening that night. VIrgil easily stayed up late for the meteor shower, sneaking out to the roof where residents weren’t meant to be, and watching the display, just him and his thermos flask of tea. He stayed out there long afterwards, sitting in the cold night air, admiring the view of the town, before sneaking back from the roof to his apartment hoping not to wake any neighbours. Not that they could complain about him to the apartment super really, half of them didn’t even know his name even after all these years. 

Virgil tried not to reflect on just how lonely it all was. He checked his social media but nobody was posting anything interesting. Instead he opened Netflix and found a show to distract him until he fell asleep or it was time to get up.

If he had gone to the library, he wouldn't have been as judged as his anxiety had led him to believe. Virgil would have snuck in late, sitting in the back row of a talk given by a professor of astronomy from the local college, Dr.Logan. He would have paid rapt attention, which would not have gone unnoticed by the professor. Logan would have approached him afterwards, as they waited for the meteor shower to start, and awkwardly began conversation. Virgil would have replied just as awkwardly and they’d have made a connection. They would have chatted all night, Virgil loaning Logan his jacket when the other man shivered. They would have stood together, Logan sublty slipping his hand into Virgil’s while they watched the skies, and they would have exchanged phone numbers. Virgil would have texted Logan when he returned home safe and Logan would have soon sent him a similar message. They would have continued texting until Logan insisted they both get some sleep. Virgil would have drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face, thinking of his crush Logan. They would have had a date at the observatory in the next week and been boyfriends within the next month or so.

But Virgil did not attend the talk, and so the two never met.

-

Patton looked around the bus but didn't see any available seats. Sighing, he resigned himself to standing for the duration of the journey, finding a bar to hold on to. 

If Patton had looked a little closer, for just another moment, he'd have found a seat

Virgil groaned internally at himself. Why why why didn't he offer to move his bag for the cute guy? Even if they hadn't said a word to each other it would have been a win when it came to talking to others, and letting himself be noticed. If the guy had just stayed looking in his direction another moment Virgil would have waved him over to the seat he's sure of it. 

If Patton had stayed looking, or if Virgil had built up the confidence to get his attention sooner, they would have sat together. Patton would have commented on the weather, Virgil nodding his agreement. Patton would have mentioned where he was travelling to, and Virgil, surprised, would have said he was heading to the same place. They'd have gotten chatting about the area, their lives, their likes and dislikes. The long journey would have seemed to fly by. Patton would have invited Virgil to his for coffee and Virgil would have accepted. They'd have talked and talked the evening away and agreed to meet up again soon.

No one in the world would be as close as the two of them. 

But Patton turned away, and Virgil said nothing. Patton stayed standing for the journey, his feet sore by the time he returned to his empty home. And Virgil sat next to only his suitcase, and returned to his apartment alone, beating himself up for his inaction. 

-

Logan stopped on the sidewalk and stared down. There was a strange rectangle by his feet. Not that it looked strange but rather the sidewalk is a strange place for a bookmark to be. He picked it up and examined it carefully. It was leather, a dark red with a gold design on the front. 

Logan looked around for the owner and spotted a man holding several books, some with similar bookmarks, heading away. Logan tried to catch up with him but failed. 

He stood on the sidewalk once more, simply holding the bookmark. Unsure what to do he placed it in his messenger bag and continued with his day. 

If he had been faster, or kept following the man another minute, Logan would have caught up with him. He would have handed back the bookmark, and admitted he quite admired it. The man, Roman he'd introduce himself as, would smile and insist he keep it. Logan would smile and try to refuse the gift, but they would both know he was going to keep it. Logan would ask what Roman was currently reading and Roman would show him the several books he was reading as research for his own play. As luck would have it, Logan happened to be rather knowledgeable on the topic and they would head to lunch together to discuss it. 

It would have been the beginning of a beautiful relationship. When they married, their wedding favours would have been beautiful leather bookmarks with the date written on them in gold.

But that didn't happen. Instead, Roman went to lunch alone, disgusted to realise he'd lost a bookmark and therefore what chapter he'd been on in an already confusing book, and had a confusing evening trying to find his place and not ruin his schedule. And Logan went home alone, keeping the bookmark to remind him of a romanticised missed connection with someone.


End file.
